Palghar,  At least 10 patients suffocated to death and several others injured in a massive fire that broke out in a Covid hospital in Virar early on Friday, officials said.

The blaze was noticed around 3.15 a.m. on the second floor ICU Ward in the 4-storied Vijay Vallabh Hospital of Tirupati Nagar and quickly spread to other wards, according to Virar Fire Brigade.

Several Covid-19 patients were undergoing treatment in the hospital and the staffers managed to shift around 5-6 of them to nearby hospitals.

The Fire Brigade rushed there with three fire tenders and managed to control the conflagration after two hours.

The cause of the fire is not known and further investigations are underway, said an official.